Member Avatar for paulscode

I have a Dell Inspiron 1150 which had a problem with the plug (solder cracked through normal use). I bought a new part, desoldered the old one, soldered in the new one, and put everything back together. Unfortunately, now the laptop won't start.

The symptoms are:
Power Light comes on.
Fan comes on for a while, then shuts down.
Screen is blank.
There are no warning beeps or blinks.
Power light stays on until the power button is pressed to turn the computer off

Things I have tried:
1) Powering up with only the power cord, and no battery
(same symptoms)

2) Powering up with the battery in, with or without the power cord
Above symptoms, plus:
Hard Drive light blinks yellow four times, green once, and repeats
(This usually indicates a bad battery. I don't think it is related.)

3) Removing hard drive, CD drive, and network card
(same symptoms)

4) Rearranging or removing RAM
(same symptoms)

5) Disconnecting the keyboard and touchpad cables
(same symptoms)

6) Removing LCD screen, stripping down to motherboard, and attaching external monitor
(same symptoms)

Just wondering if anyone can think of anything else I could try.

I did notice one thing that seems odd to me, but I am not experienced with working on laptops (mostly just desktops). If I look closely at the CPU, I can just barely see the top of the pins (the CPU is not seated all the way down flush in the socket). I tried removing it, repositioning it, etc, but no matter what I do, that is as far as it seems to go. It is glued to the heat sink, which has screws designed to prevent them from being screwed down any further, so I can't apply pressure directly to the CPU to see if it will go in further. I may try removing the heat sink and see if I can get the CPU to go down more flush, then clean and reapply thermal greese. If any of you are familiar with the Inspiron 1150, do you happen to know if the CPU is supposed to be perfectly flush or not?

I ordered a miniPCI POST card diagnostic tool, which might help me learn if there is something wrong with the motherboard. I will be sure to post if I manage to figure this problem out for myself.

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Short practical summary and what to look for next. The symptom set shown in this thread (power LED on, fan spins briefly then stops, blank screen) most often means POST is failing very early — that can be caused by the microprocessor not making reliable contact, memory faults, BIOS/board mismatches, or an input-power problem. 's outcome shows a seating/contact issue can present exactly like a board failure; 's note about the DC jack / traces is also a common repair blind spot. (dell.com)

How the CPU should be handled (avoid bent pins and intermittent contact). The official Inspiron 1150 service manual describes the ZIF cam-screw procedure and specifically recommends holding the package down at the center while turning the cam screw so the package makes solid contact; when correctly seated all four corners sit at the same height. If the heat sink is stuck to the CPU, remove it per the manual before trying to reseat the module so the part can drop into the socket cleanly. (downloads.dell.com)

Checklist for a replacement system board (for situations like ). After swapping a board, verify: the DC jack and board traces/grounds (cold joints or cracked traces will produce powered-but-no-POST symptoms), the internal speaker is attached (to hear POST beeps), the display cable and inverter are connected, and whether the replacement board needs a BIOS flash or the OEM BIOS image provided with the board. The Inspiron service manual covers how to flash a replaced-board BIOS; repair guides show common DC-jack checks and harness replacements. (downloads.dell.com)

Interpreting beeps and quick next steps (for and others hearing beeps). Record the beep pattern and any diagnostic-LED pattern; Dell documentation maps common beep/LED sequences to CPU, memory, CMOS, and video faults so that testing can be targeted (try one RAM stick in the primary slot, confirm speaker/beep presence, and retest). When posting follow-ups, the exact beep sequence and any diagnostic LED pattern are the highest‑value data for narrowing the fault. (dell.com)

Member Avatar for mb523

Hello, I have an Inspiron 1150 as well and have had the same issue with the power connector. I was able to use the existing jack but use a small jumper wire to re-connect the ground to the motherboard. I have a feeling that one of the connections on your new jack isn't tight or soldered well. Re-check them all and try it again. It is also possible that there is a cracked trace on your motherboard. Some detective work may reveal this.

As for the CPU, I do not recall seeing space, but I have never looked close enough. The socket is a ZIF socket actuated by a small flat head screw that turns with a small screwdriver. You can re-seat the cpu while it is still on the heatsink. Just use a screwdriver, unlatch the socket, lightly press down on the cpu, and re-lock it. I don't think it will be an issue though.

These dells have very poorly designed power plugs. They are very very easy to break or bump into. A right-angle cord end would only make sense, right?

Let me know what you think... and we will go from there.

Member Avatar for paulscode

Hey, turns out the CPU was the problem. Thanks, man, you saved me a lot of time. I should have looked at that socket closer, and I would have seen the lock/unlock icon on there, lol.

Member Avatar for mb523

Hey, turns out the CPU was the problem. Thanks, man, you saved me a lot of time. I should have looked at that socket closer, and I would have seen the lock/unlock icon on there, lol.

Excellent! Glad to hear it is up and running again! Glad to be of help.

Member Avatar for DEBONAIR10

I recently changed the motherboard on Dell Inspiron 1150 NOW NOTHING COMES ON BUT THE POWER LIGHT AND i HAVE A BLACK SCREEN ALSO CHANGED THE BATTERY AND PS CORD IS GOOD ANYONE HAD THIS PROBLEM .THANK YOU CAN ANYONE HELP ME WITH THIS

Member Avatar for LutherM

I had the same problem when I removed the CPU..It wouldn't fit back in and I could see the top of the pins till I read somewhere that I needed to unlock it.Now it works ok again but I am getting beeps while it boots up?

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